William Penn Earns Final Spot Into The Quarterfinals

Schwab scores 42 points to lead the Statesmen

March 15, 2014

By Matt Bos, NAIA Media Coordinator

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score) Saturday’s quarterfinals are set as William Penn continued the upset trend of the day with an impressive 106-83 dismantling of no. 11 St. Thomas (Fla.) in the second round of the NAIA Division II National Championship. The 2014 event is being played at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.

A day after playing in a classic first round game against no. 6 Dordt (Iowa), William Penn picked up right where it left off by dominating the Bobcats from the start. Behind a barrage of three-pointers, the Statesmen jumped out to an early 10-point lead (21-11) that extended to all the way up to 18 points by halftime, 53-35. William Penn closed the half on a 10-2 run, holding St. Thomas without a field goal for the final five minutes.

St. Thomas rallied, beginning the second half with a 10-2 run and cut the lead all the way down to seven on three different times, taking advantage of some cold shooting and turnovers by the Statesmen. William Penn, however, came out of its scoring drought and gradually built the lead up to 20 over the final 10 minutes to preserve its spot in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The teams combined to set the record for most three-pointers attempted in a single game (66), breaking the old mark set by Northern State (S.D.) and Howard Payne (Texas) in 1995, and matched the second most three-pointers made (27). William Penn put in 16 three-pointers, tying for the second most in a game, while shooting a remarkable 53% from beyond the arc.

Alec Schwab poured in a 2014 championship-best 42 points, matching the fifth highest scoring total at the championship. The junior drained 7-of-12 three-pointers and had another big night at the foul line, going 13-for-14 from the charity stripe. Kelly Madison scored 24 and Erik McGee added 11 points and eight rebounds.

St. Thomas shot 37% for the game, 31% (11-for-36) from the three-point arc. Khaalis Coppock-Bey led the Bobcats with 25 points and Floyd Battle netted 14. St. Thomas falls in the second round for the third straight year and ends the season with a 26-7 record.

William Penn improves to 23-9 on the year and will be matched up against another unseeded team, Robert Morris (Ill.) in Saturday’s quarterfinal at 7pm.

MEN'S DII BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

25th ANNUAL DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
March 9-15, 2016
College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo.